Using A Shotgun To Plant Seeds… Flower Shells

A blast from the relative past you may not have known about, or may have already forgotten, and the big question is: has it stood the test of time? Let’s kick up the ol’ bird shot-riddled boots and dust off that there shotgun and figure out what in tarnation ever happened to the Flower Shells.

What The Hell Is A Flower Shell?

Not too long ago, on a planet right under our noses, was an optimistic dreamer from a strange and mysterious land (Sweden) that was most likely sipping some strong Scandinavian lava juice and/or had recently come back from an intensive trip throughout Amsterdam when he thought, “What’s the best way to turn something designed for destruction into a creative, life-giving tool that could make the world a more beautiful place?”

His answer: a shotgun shell that fires tiny flower seeds.

The man is Per Cromwell of Studio Total and with the help of the Nordic Society Of Invention And Discovery (NSID) they developed a shotgun shell that can forcefully spread a seed bed in 12 different varieties.

Watch this video to see how to both properly operate the specialty ammunition and how to look like a giant pansy while doing so:

…and if you thought that graceful form and unmatched accuracy was a fluke, well then feast your eyes on this:

Both Yosemite Sam and Elmer Fudd would have been environmental activists if they had this technology.

Although resurfacing as a “happening right now” kind of thing on social media, the original story actually surfaced back in 2013 when an Indiegogo campaign was started to raise funds for the project with Per Cromwell stating, “[my] invention is 100% real and inventory is backordered until February [2014].”

That is where the clarity ends…

Is This Shit Even Real?

This is possibly the most important question of this or any article regarding the Flower Shell, and I can say with total honesty that… I have no f#%@*^& clue if it’s real. It could be one of the most elaborate and successful long-form pranks in modern history, or it could just be a rash of really weird inventions designed by true geniuses.

Jumping over to their official website only further muddies my entire belief system. With products like “No More Woof,” described as a device that interprets a dog’s inner barks and translates them into audible speech that their owner(s) can understand, to the “iRock,” a rocking chair with a built-in iPod dock and speakers so you can literally rock the night away (my own pun) who knows what to trust and what to dismiss?

An official statement on their website says this, “Our aim is simple: to design in the borderlands of the reasonable. Global media from the Discovery Channel to Fast Company have reported on our projects and our company “Wheelys” has become a fast growing global startup. Deeply humble over this, we still must say that this is just the beginning. Our lab is small but our ambitions are big.”

To reinforce the confusion, the only places online that you can find the Flower Shell up for retail purchase are obscure, rando websites like “Tom’s Stuff” and “IWannaBuyThis.com” (I would highly recommend rethinking any plans you may have to purchase anything from these sites).

I really did start this article expecting a simple clarification of a failed crowd-sourcing project but what I’m left with is more questions than answers. I don’t know. This is a really weird, fascinating story.

Have you ever heard of Flower Shells? Do you think this is a real thing, or is it an expertly planned prank? Let us know: comment below and share on Facebook.